Inspiring Creativity Through Magick: How to Ritualize Your Art & Attract the Creative Spirit

By Astrea Taylor and Michael Herkes

Find Your Creative Spirit in Every Magickal Act

Art is inherently magickal and you, as an artist, are a magician who can ritualize any creative endeavor. Sharing an impressive collection of spells, rituals, deities, and lore, Astrea Taylor helps you bring to life the story, painting, sculpture, or music you've been dreaming about.

This book is designed to guide you through the entire creative process. You'll draw inspiration from spirits and the four elements to complete your rough draft, and then use the principles of alchemy to transform it into a masterpiece. Astrea also provides deep insight on releasing your art into the world, resting between projects, and persevering through hard times. From handling criticism to awakening the guiding spirit of your art, this book shares numerous exercises to get your creativity flowing and keep it going.

Includes a foreword by Michael Herkes, author of The Glam Witch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
• Release date: Jul 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9780738770239

Astrea Taylor

Astrea Taylor is an eclectic pagan witch with over two and a half decades of experience in the witching world. She's the author of Air Magic, Intuitive Witchcraft, Inspiring Creativity Through Magick, and co-author of Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods. She has a bachelor's degree in science from Antioch College and a master's degree in environmental sciences from Wright State University, which informs her scientific takes on spirituality. In her spare time, she presents workshops and rituals online and at festivals across the country, and occasionally she blogs as Starlight Witch on Patheos Pagan. Find her on Instagram @astreataylor, on Facebook at Astrea Taylor, Author, and on Twitter @AstreaWrites.

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About the Author

Astrea Taylor is an eclectic/intuitive pagan witch whose life goals include empowering other witches and encouraging them to use intuition in their witchcraft. She’s the author of Intuitive Witchcraft, Air Magic (the winner of a gold COVR award in 2022), and Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods. She mentors and presents workshops and rituals online and at festivals across the country. Astrea has contributed passages to several books and magazines, including Green Egg, We’Moon, Mastering Magick, Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, Llewellyn’s Spell-A-Day Almanac, The Witch’s Altar, The Witch’s Book of Spellcraft, Witchology, and Llewellyn’s Witches’ Companion. She blogs on Patheos Pagan as Starlight Witch, and she fire dances with Aurora Fire Dancers. Learn more at AstreaTaylor.com.

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Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Inspiring Creativity Through Magick: How to Ritualize Your Art & Attract the Creative Spirit © 2023 by Astrea Taylor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition © 2023

E-book ISBN: 9780738770239

Cover design by Cassie Willett

Interior art by the Llewellyn Art Department

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-0-7387-7015-4

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

for Scarlett, who brings the fire,

&

for Crowe, my beloved creative spirit

Disclaimers and Best Practices

The advice in this book is intended to educate and assist people on their quest to become better artists. The magickal practices in this book don’t exist in a vacuum and they don’t guarantee success—they rely upon artists showing up, doing the work, and learning their craft. Please always ensure your personal safety. Fire safety is important—be cautious of where you place flames, and never leave a lit candle unattended. Be cautious when using oils and herbs in case an allergic reaction could occur. Research herbs and oils to find whether a contraindication exists with your medicine. Don’t ingest essential oils, and don’t use undiluted essential oils on your skin. Keep essential oils, incense, herbs, smoke, and all other potentially toxic materials away from children and pets. Consult a doctor, therapist, or another health care provider before ingesting herbs and if you have any concerns about your general health or mental health.

Contents

Foreword by Michael Herkes

Introduction: The Artist as a Magician

PART ONE: The Creative Spirit and the Creative Ritual: Crafting Your Rough Draft

Chapter 1: Creative Spirits: Inspiring Art

Chapter 2: Air: Vision and Inspiration

Chapter 3: Fire: Passion and Courage

Chapter 4: Water: Balance and Flow

Chapter 5: Earth: Growth and Perseverance

Chapter 6: Casting the Circle: Finishing Your Rough Draft

PART TWO: Refining and Releasing Your Art into the World

Chapter 7: The Spirit of Your Creation: Awakening the Egregore

Chapter 8: Creative Alchemy: Refining Your Art

Chapter 9: The Magician’s Reveal: Releasing Your Art into the World

Chapter 10: Post-Release: Liminal Rest, Recharge, and Reflection

Conclusion: Art Life

Acknowledgments

Appendix: Deities Associated with Art and Creativity

Bibliography

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Foreword

Creativity is to the artist what magick is to the witch—an energy that can be manipulated to create change in the world. Witchcraft is about using your will to create this change. While magic is the manifestation of your intentions, creativity is the conduit to setting your witch work into motion. Both simultaneously help awaken imagination and a sense of wonderment in life.

Magic in and of itself is a creative process. It, along with creativity, allows you the chance to see things in life differently. It all begins with the creation of an intention that uses energetic sources to result in a transformative gain. It is also the selection and arrangement of your tools and ingredients. It is the excitement that ripples through you as you light your candles and hold your crystals. It is the ecstasy stimulated by your actions as you raise the energy within the ritual of a spell. It is walking between the worlds and calling forth your intuitive powers through the senses, seeing the synchronicity and symbols as they unfold in your mind’s eye alongside the elements of nature that envelope your physical world.

When you still your mind and pay attention closely, you can experience a symphony of muses as they conduct your primal soul to bestow beauty in the world around you. It is the breath that fills your lungs and the breeze on which birds soar. It is the molten core of our planet, the warmth of the sun in the sky, and the pounding rhythm of your heartbeat. It is the surge of the sea and rivers of water that parallel the blood flowing through your veins. It is the rocks, trees, and mountains that give form and structure like your flesh and bones. It is the spirit within that connects to divinity and the higher self. The witch is an artist and a vessel for creativity to move through.

Being creative is one of the most exciting experiences I have ever felt in this world. I claimed the title of artist many years ago—well before that of witch. Early in my life, my mother passed down to me the importance of expressing myself creatively. I was encouraged to draw as often as possible, and as I practiced my artistic skills, they evolved from two-dimensional scribbles to forms that mirrored my imaginative urges. Finding new ways to create was also fuel to my inner fire. I learned to master various media, like crayon, colored pencil, marker, charcoal, paint, and photography. This further evolved into fashion and the creative surge to use aesthetic and adornment as visual, living works of art.

At the same time, I was also coming into my magic as a teen witch—seeking out spiritual expression to help find empowerment during my coming of age. As I advanced in my magical studies, I began to feel my worlds of artist and witch intersect. I started to see how my creativity invigorated my magic and vice versa. As I read books on witchcraft and began practicing, I became aware of new creative potentials, gaining intrigue with the beauty of words themselves and how they could be strung together in a way to further extend my artistic expression. Now, having authored a number of books while cultivating my persona as the Glam Witch, known for centering my practice around the visual art of glamour magic, I have begun using creativity to inspire inner and outer transformation in myself and others.

I absolutely love this book and Astrea’s many words of wisdom. I wish I had this resource earlier on in my journey to help focus and align my creative energy with magic in the sophisticated fashion that she has provided. Astrea has created such a wonderful source of ways to magically fuel your creativity and use it to your advantage in creating a life of authentic magical expression to experience and create true transformation in the world.

I am confident that this book will help you conjure the muse within to release imaginative beauty into the world. There are so many spells, rituals, and mythologies included that are integrated in real-life artistic experience that any artist, regardless of their preferred medium, can find useful bites of information they can turn into positive action. Whether you seek inspiration from spirits and elemental energies to spark the fire within, templates to ritualize your creative process, or empathetic encouragement to navigate the peaks and valleys of post-release criticism, Astrea’s insight will help you set your creative spirit aflame.

Witchcraft allows you the creative freedom to decorate your life as you see fit. What I’ve learned over the years as a creative is that honoring my individuality and identity in this world provides me with a stronger way to express myself imaginatively. So tap into your uniqueness. Give yourself the freedom to be the magician who holds a paintbrush as a wand. Continue forth on your creative journey with the pages ahead, and paint the world with your vivid, magical splendor. There is limitless power in this book for forging your creative prowess and embodying your art of witchery. Your time is now.

—Michael Herkes, author of The GLAM Witch

[contents]

introduction

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The Artist as a Magician

In the winter of 2009, I was deeply engrossed in writing what would become my first finished book when I noticed there was a spirit in the room with me. He showed up at the edge of my vision as a small, shadowy figure who was barely discernible but definitely there. The spirit was no larger than my cat, and he stared at me in a similar manner. Of course, this spirit wasn’t my cat. Casper lay curled up beside me on an ottoman whenever I wrote. He was blissfully unaware of the spirit, just as he ignored the items that seemed to give me so much inspiration—my steaming cup of tea, the sodalite I kept beside my laptop, the blue pillar candle that lit up the room, and the rose incense.

I was surprised to see an unfamiliar spirit in my writing room, but not as surprised as other people might be. As a witch, I’d seen many kinds of spirits—I’d even worked magick with them in rituals and spells. However, this spirit was unlike all the other ones I’d seen. I’d never seen one so short and squat. Also, he had somehow gotten through all the protection magick I had woven around my house to keep out random spirits. Even though he was technically an intruder, he didn’t act like the other spirits who had trespassed into my home before. There were no whispered lies and no favors asked. There was no negative energy, and he wasn’t drawing my energy away from me. It seemed that this polite little spirit didn’t want anything from me at all. He was peaceful, patient, and content to stand at the edge of my sight and within my energetic bubble. I felt as if he were waiting for something to happen. All these feelings, as well as my curiosity about what kind of spirit he may be, kept me from banishing him.

That first time I noticed him, I turned so I could get a better look at him. In the brief time it took for my eyes to alight upon the place where he had been, he had vanished. There was nothing there apart from the shiny black wooden floor. There wasn’t even a trace of energy to show that he had been there at all. I recall feeling puzzled and somewhat relieved that he was gone even though he didn’t seem threatening. However, I didn’t linger on it. I didn’t need a mystery to solve—I needed to keep writing.

Several days later, when I was writing a very emotional part of my book with the same candle, tea, incense, and sodalite, he appeared again. I instinctively glanced in his direction, but he was gone instantly for the second time. At that point, I stopped writing for a moment to think about the patterns of when he appeared. I realized that the spirit only showed up when I was so entrenched in writing my story that I felt as if I were in another world. When I stopped writing, he didn’t seem to exist anymore, at least not in my immediate presence. He also came when I had the exact same items—the tea, the candle, the incense, and the sodalite.

With this knowledge, I formulated a plan to learn more about him. I resolved that I would again use what I began calling my creative correspondences. I’d remain focused on my work so I wouldn’t scare him away. When he appeared, I’d observe him from the periphery of my sight and try to figure out what kind of spirit he was and what he wanted.

Not long afterward, while I was writing with my creative correspondences, he arrived again. I continued writing while viewing him in more detail. He didn’t reveal much of himself, but his shadowy presence took more of a shape. He appeared as a large, black bird, but with some human traits too. To my surprise, he also wore a tiny black suit, a pocket watch, and a monocle, like a gentleman crow from another era. I set my disbelief aside to pay attention to my writing, which started to flow more effortlessly than it had before he arrived. It had been a difficult scene to write, and I was struggling to make my vision of the events intelligible. However, as soon as he arrived, the words came through so much more easily. A pleasurable sensation trickled down from the top of my head, like cool water or an icy breeze that relaxed and invigorated me.

The experience lasted only a few minutes, but I knew it was something magickal. It had the same taste and thrilling feeling as magick, and I was left feeling more amped to be alive.

In the following weeks, whenever he showed up, I kept my eyes focused on my writing, but I welcomed him with a smile. My writing flowed nearly effortlessly. The spirit came more and more often, and I came back to my writing desk more often as well. His arrival had no fanfare; rather, it was marked by his barely discernible appearance and a flow of inspiration. Whenever I wrote something particularly brilliant, he was there, his icy touch sending chills through the top of my head. As a beginning writer, I was shocked at the good quality of my work. Bragging has never been one of my strong suits, but with him around, I couldn’t deny that I had an absolutely perfect plot twist, and I couldn’t improve the words I’d hastily typed either. Not only was the quality of my writing better, but the quantity was too. I was able to write for longer stretches of time. Our energy together was electric, and I found myself wanting to create more and more.

I decided this spirit was a creative spirit for several reasons. First of all, he didn’t care about anything except for my writing. Second, he didn’t accept any of the offerings I gave him unless they involved the creative process. He had shrugged at all the drinks and food I left out, even when I tried variations. However, when I created a collage portrait of him, he appreciated it so much that he sent me more creative energy than ever before.

There were several signs that he was a beneficial spirit. After our sessions, I felt energized and elated. I didn’t experience any negative side effects from spending time with him, such as an energy drain or a hangover feeling. Sure, I had slight mental strains from time to time, but that could happen to anyone who focused on a creative project for several hours.

The last reason I believed him to be a creative spirit was that he helped me finish my first book ever. Despite having tried to write books for several years, this time was different—he was there.

Since those early years with Crowe, I’ve worked with him magickally and in many disciplines of art. I’ve gained insights into the creative process that may not have come had I not cultivated that time with him and appeased him with those creative correspondences.

Since then, I’ve realized that all magick can be viewed as an art and all art as magick. The two are similar in so many ways. Both artists and magicians create something from nothing. They find the right words, the right materials, and the right way to use them to produce what they desire. They study what’s known and experiment with possibilities to find the best fit for their visions. They experience otherworldly states and commune with spirits. Artists create a final product that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

The connection between art and magick has been known for millennia, and it’s clear in several phrases and meanings in our language. The word craft is synonymous with